Atalanta aim to ease Bergamo suffering

With Juventus and Napoli both eliminated in the past week, a provincial club from the region that was at the heart of Italy’s Covid-19 outbreak will be leading Serie A’s hopes in the Champions League final eight.

Atalanta, from the city of Bergamo, which has a population of about 120,000, will take on Paris St Germain (PSG) on Wednesday.

It will be a poignant moment. At the height of the coronavirus outbreak, Bergamo’s hospitals were overwhelmed by infected people and, with morgues unable to keep up, convoys of army trucks carrying away the dead became a chilling symbol of the global pandemic.

“We will play with Bergamo and for Bergamo, this will give us extra strength,” midfielder Remo Freuler told the Eco di Bergamo newspaper.

“This region has suffered a lot. We know that very well in the squad and this gives us extra motivation when we go onto the field.”

In many ways, Atalanta and PSG are polar opposites. The Serie A side operate on a relatively small budget and coach Gian Piero Gasperini has moulded a successful team by bringing the best out of players who had underachieved at other clubs.

Their entire transfer spending for the 2019/2020 season was about €57m, according to the specialist website Transfermarkt. Qatari-backed PSG, on the other hand, have been able to spend lavishly on players such as the Brazilian Neymar, who cost them a record €220m.

Atalanta are so proud of their local connections that club president Antonio Percassi sends a replica shirt to every baby born in Bergamo’s hospitals.

Atalanta have been relegated three times since the turn of the century, but their fortunes have changed dramatically after Gasperini arrived in 2016. /